A Sight To See
by BellatrixLestrangey
Summary: Katara takes care of a sick and grumpy Azula.


Katara can't help it, she has to chuckle. Azula looks absolutely ridiculous; her nose and cheeks are red. Her eyes are sleepy. She sniffles constantly and the floor around her is a mess of tissues. She looks up sadly, almost pathetically. But she knows that if she laughs too much that the princess will get all cranky again. She'd rather have Azula staring up at her with that kicked polar-bear puppy look than glaring lightning at her.

"Here, take this." Katara drapes the heaviest blanket that she can find over Azula's shoulders.

Azula clutches the blanket tightly to her small frame. "Next time we're celebrating the winter festival in the Fire Nation."

"There is no winter in the Fire Nation!"

"Yes. Exactly." Azula mutters. "None of this cold white stuff either."

"You mean the snow?"

"I know what it's called." She huffs.

"If we were in the Fire Nation we would be able to see the lights." Katara points out. "I thought that you said you liked them."

"It is hard to enjoy the display like this." She motions to her overall disheveled self. "I can't breath out of my nose."

Katara suppresses another laugh. "I suppose that that's true."

The firebender gives a few coughs.

"Is this the first time that you've ever caught a cold?"

Azula nods. She gathers her blankets, stands up, and moves to the window.

"You want to go out and see them again, don't you?"

Azula nods again. "I'm already sick, I might as well."

Katara thinks for a moment and, with a sigh, replies, "alright I guess we can go out for a little bit since you're too sick to go to the actual festival."

"It was probably a stupid festival anyways. Peasant stuff." She folds her arms over her chest.

Katara offers her a gentle pat on the back, "whatever makes you feel better." She readjusts her blankets for her before wandering off to find their coats.

Azula, feeling no less grumpy, finds herself a spot by the window, trying to get a look at the sky lights from the warmth of the home. She can see the faintly glowing edge of them, a soft blue that reminds her of her fire. She sniffs again and looks around for her box of tissues. Finding it empty she sniffs again. And again.

Finally she can take no more and wanders by Katara, "I am out of tissues."

"Alright, I'll get you some more, follow me."

She pads alongside Katara until the girl offers her a new box of tissues. The princess makes her way back to the room she'd started in before blowing her nose. She frowns to herself. Gross. It is gross. Being sick is undoubtedly disgusting and she hates it. She longs for a bath. A real bath. The kind that she can only receive in the palace's hot springs.

"Here, put this on."

Azula stares at the parka before reluctantly putting it it is well and zipped, she stands there awkwardly. The sheer amount of layers she wears beneath the parka restricts her arm movements. She may be comfortably warm but the bulk of the layers gives her a slightly awkward gait.

This time Katara laughs openly. "Alright, maybe we can take off a few layers."

She unzips Azula's parka once more and pulls the topmost layer over her head. The princess does little to help herself, opting to pout in a silent protest of whatever wintery hell she is in. Once Katara is satisfied with her girlfriend's current count of layers, she tugs the parka back on and pulls out a pair of mittens.

"I like gloves more."

"They aren't as warm."

"And…"

"And, yesterday you almost got frostbite." After having successfully forcing Azula's hands into the mittens she gives them an affectionate squeeze. "There, I think that you're all set."

"I look ridiculous." Azula grumbles.

"Yeah, you do look pretty silly." Katara grins and pecks her on one of her rosy cheeks. "Lets go look at the lights."

The snow crunches beneath their feet as they kick it up. Despite the strife that the frigid weather is causing her, Azula finds it to be simply stunning. She has never seen anything like it in the Fire Nation. She can look at craggy cliffsides and magma formations-beautiful in their own respect-but she couldn't view icicles there. They glisten like quartz, each one unique. They create a sharp and dangerous trim on the houses and boats and pretty much any structure that they could find. Everything sparkled and shimmered in the moon light.

It is the sky though, that has Azula transfixed.

Katara's arm links around hers. She feels the waterbender shift her weight onto her, her head rubbing up against Azula's neck. The firebender's eyes don't leave the lights. They billow like glowing curtains in a breeze. They burst and flare like fire. Like spectral tongues licking at the sky. She is completely mesmerized, so much so that she barely registers the cold. Distantly, she acknowledges that, that is probably how she'd gotten sick in the first place.

When she finally looks down, she catches Katara staring at her.

"Why aren't you looking at the lights? They're so beautiful."

"I found something more beautiful to look at." She cups her hand over Azula's cheek.

Azula quirks a brow. "Yeah, if you think sniffling and puffy eyes are attractive."

"Speaking of...I think that it's time to get back inside."

Azula turns back to the lights, "a few more minutes?"

"Alright." Katara sighs. "But only if you let me keep you warm."

"Go ahead."

Katara wraps her arms around her the princess and peers at the lights for herself. She allows five or so minutes to pass before leading Azula back to the house. Not that her eyes actually leave the sky until they are back inside. She wraps the princess back into her blankets. "Would you mind getting a fire going?"

Azula scoots closer to the fireplace and lights the wood. It crackles blue for a moment before brightening into a brilliant orange.

"I'll get some festival soup cooking. I've been dying to show you our traditional holiday soup!"

"Okay."

"Goodness, you still look so grumpy." Katara ruffles her hair.

"Stop that."

Katara gives her another grin. "You'll feel better soon. Most colds only last a few days and then you'll feel like yourself again." She takes Azula's hands and kisses the firebender.

"You shouldn't do that, you're going to get sick too."

"I'll be fine. Just because you're sick, doesn't mean that you can get out of being loved." She kisses Azula again. "Now, just relax and let me take care of you for once."

Azula is quiet for a minute, she holds her hands out in front of her. "Alright, fine."


End file.
